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I recently challenged myself to post to TikTok every day for 30 days. In that time, I grew over 15,000 followers! In this post, I’m going to teach you how I did it.
As a quick disclaimer, there is more than one way to grow on TikTok. I’m going to teach you what worked for me, and it’s by no means the “only” way.
I KNOW that it’s possible to just post whatever the heck you want, whenever the heck you want, and still see success. But, that’s not true for everyone.
With that in mind, here’s what I did to grow my TikTok to 15,000 followers in just 30 days.
Step 1: Create a Plan
The first step for how to grow fast on TikTok is to create your posting cadence. How often do you want to post on TikTok?
For me, I started my 30-day challenge by posting once a day. After 1 week of posting once a day, I felt like I could bump it up a bit, so I started posting twice a day. Sometimes I posted three times a day.
I understand that may be unrealistic for some people. That’s why it’s important to pick a cadence that works for you.
Twice a day was definitely more challenging, but that was the point of the 30-day challenge.
It’s supposed to push you outside of your comfort zone.
Step 2: Know What to Post
Now that you know how often you’re going to post, you need to figure out WHAT you’re going to post.
A great way to figure out what to post is to ask yourself, “What do I want to be known for?”
If you’re at that point of really being ready to grow fast on TikTok, then you probably already know what you want to be known for.
Once you have that topic (or niche), start brain-dumping a list of video ideas related to that topic.
The first week I started posting on TikTok, I was posting Instagram-related content on how to grow on Instagram. Then I realized, I don’t want to be known as an Instagram Coach. I want to be known as an Influencer Coach who teaches more than just Instagram.
I can teach about multiple platforms, how to make Influencing your full-time job, turning it into a business, and so much more. By the second week, I finally started to integrate more of those topics that I wanted to be known for.
That’s when the traffic really started to build.
Step 3: Batch Now to be Spontaneous Later
What’s batching? Batching is when you focus on one aspect of your content creation process, generally in one sitting or session, to help with productivity.
I love batching. I batch my YouTube videos, sometimes filming four videos in one day.
But batching isn’t always good for TikTok. It won’t help you with long-term growth, but is great for when you’re just starting out.
For example, when I started posting on TikTok, I batched a bunch of educational videos. It’s easy to batch educational or “how-to” videos since they aren’t reliant on any trends.
Because they didn’t rely on current trends, I couldn’t rely solely on those educational videos for growth. Instead, those videos were great fillers for days when I wasn’t feeling spontaneous enough to record a TikTok that was “trending”.
And if you’re just starting out, batching content can help guarantee that you’ll have something to post at least once a day for the next week.
What makes TikTok different from all the other social media platforms is you don’t need to have a scheduled content strategy. For platforms like Instagram or YouTube, it makes a world of a difference when you have posts scheduled for the same days every week at the same time.
TikTok isn’t strategic like that. You certainly can have a strategy, but TikTok is more about spontaneity and organic, casual content.
Since it’s so heavily reliant on that spontaneity, it helps to have batched videos for days you don’t feel so inspired.
Step 4: Consume on TikTok
Know what’s going on in your niche.
When you watch other creators’ videos in your niche, it will give an idea of the style of your niche’s content.
I’m not necessarily saying to watch other TikToks for video ideas. When I was watching other creators in my niche, I was more studying the style, topics, trends, hashtags, etc. of popular videos.
Are the videos fast-paced? Are they sitting, talking-head videos? Where are the creators filming (outdoors, indoors, in the car, etc.)? What are they talking about/teaching?
These are the types of questions you should be asking yourself when watching other TikToks.
How to Find Trending TikToks
The best way I was able to find trending videos in my niche was by going to the search page on TikTok and typing in the topic you plan on talking about.
For me, I searched “Instagram Tips”, as you see in the screenshot below
Once the results come up, click on the filter icon on the top right, and sort the results by the most liked videos in the past seven days, as shown below.
When going through those videos, I’d ask myself questions about each one and learn from them.
Was there a particular sound that comes up a lot that I can use? Is there a topic creating a lot of buzz, and I can contribute to the conversation?
Then make those videos on what you notice is trending.
Step 5: Post Your Videos!
Literally, just create and post your videos. If you have videos in your drafts right now, post them.
Everybody gets stuck on the “What’s the best time to post? What hashtags should I use?” and they prevent themselves from committing and posting.
Put the tactical stuff aside for a second and just create.
You don’t have to have it all figured out before posting. Posting actually teaches you what works best for you, your niche, and your audience.
As I mentioned earlier, I started out posting just once a day for a week then ramped it up the next week. During those weeks, I learned a lot.
Here’s what I learned:
Post 2-3 Times a Day
I found that my channel grew more consistently the more often I posted, compared to when I only posted about once a day.
But again, do what’s realistic for you and your schedule. As long as you’re consistent.
Use a Trending Sound
I used a trending sound in every video. Yes, every single one.
Even if I was doing a talking “how-to” video, I had the audio turned all the way to volume 3 and I had a trending sound playing in the background.
Use Hashtags Specific to Your Niche
I didn’t use hashtags primarily to get more views, but I did it to help categorize my content.
Those hashtags told TikTok who to put my content in front of.
Think of TikTok as Instagram Stories
TikTok doesn’t have to be anything fancy. You’re literally just holding your phone up and talking to your camera.
You don’t need a fancy lighting setup. You don’t need fancy camera gear (although, if you want some, SANDMARC has some great camera lenses and tripods for phones).
I made a TikTok once while making eggs. I was waiting for my eggs to cook and thought, “What can I do right now while waiting… I can make a TikTok!”
It can be as simple and as casual as that.
Make “Selfish Content”
On my YouTube channel I teach two types of content you can use: Growth Content and Nurture Content.
Growth Content is content I post to get more views or followers/subscribers.
Nurture Content is where I answer questions from my audience. It’s nurturing your community.
For TikTok, I created a third type of content: Selfish Content. I had never done this before and honestly, it felt so good!
I made videos for me. I had a fun idea and just went for it, having no regard for how the video performed.
Use CapCut For Editing
In all honesty, I could not have grown on TikTok without CapCut.
I use it to edit all my videos, whether it’s for TikTok or Instagram stories or Reels because it’s so easy and it integrates so well with all of the platforms.
Not only that, but it’s completely free. It’s free to download and there’s nothing to “upgrade” once you start using it. You have access to every feature right away. It’s amazing.
Follow the Comments
Follow the comments where they lead you. Create room for spontaneity.
The reason my channel grew was because after one video blew up, I looked at the questions people were asking in the comments and created more video content to answer their questions.
Most people look at the comments section of videos. When someone stumbles on that one viral video and looks at the comments, they’ll see that I’m responding with videos that give more advice, more tips, answering questions, showing proof and evidence to back up what I’m saying.
Follow your comments. Create that binge-worthy content as if you’re a Netflix show!
Step 6: Post Something Controversial (optional)
If you really want to go viral, and everything else you’ve tried isn’t working, post something controversial.
That is how I blew up. That’s my secret!
In my viral, “controversial” video, I talk about how much money I make as an influencer. Some people don’t like it.
I think it’s important for other Influencers to know how much other people are getting paid so we can set a standard for the industry. The Influencer industry is so new, I thought I’d tell other Influencers how much I charge to give them an idea of how much they should charge.
Am I right? Am I wrong? I don’t know, but let’s start that conversation with this controversial topic.
Not only was it controversial, but I was able to tie in a trending audio and a trending dance. It checked all the boxes.
It’s Your Turn to Grow on TikTok
Those are all the steps I took to grow on TikTok.
I know they work because it’s exactly what I did. If you want to replicate my strategy, go for it.
If you have any further questions about my strategy or a specific step within my strategy, please let me know in the comments of this post. Even if you want more information on a topic you don’t think I talked about enough, let me know.
I’d also love to hear about what worked for you (or didn’t work) when growing your TikTok.
Those of you who leave comments inspire all of my future content. So, thank you in advance.
Follow your joy!
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